The Blood of Olympus (remake)
by breakeven2007
Summary: When The Blood of Olympus came out, it really disappointed me. I love Riordan's writing, but this last one felt rushed. He had so much buildup from the other four books, and I just couldn't stand how much of a let-down it was. So I decided to write it how I would've liked it. This is just a fan's opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
1. I

I

Percy

Demigods always have bad dreams, but Percy was beginning to think he was going insane when the lines between sleep and wake were blurring. Each time he woke up he was covered in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. The images in his mind were too vivid, too _real_ , and he'd always scan the room for a threat that wasn't there anymore.

 _It's ok,_ he thought. _I'm just shaken up. I mean, I just went through literal hell. I deserve some slack._ But Percy knew better. He'd been a part of this world of monsters and gods for years, and never had he once been proven just plain old paranoid.

Suddenly there was a knock at his door, so he put on his best brave face and said, "Come in!"

Jason Grace stood on the other side of the threshold with a look of pure exhaustion on his face. His regularly combed blonde hair stuck out in every direction like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket and his clothes were singed slightly along the edges, giving off a faint metallic, burnt toast smell.

"Look man," Jason said, still a little out of breath. "We're going to start sailing again soon, so you'd better get onto the deck. It's getting crazy out here." Percy nodded, so Jason left.

Pulling on some jeans and a rumpled T-shirt, Percy made his way to the deck where the others were all waiting for him. Piper, downplaying her beauty as usual, in a threadbare shirt and well-worn jeans. Leo, smeared with machine oil vigorously waving his Wii remote. Jason, trying unsuccessfully to tame his hair. Frank, talking quietly to Hazel, who looked dead tired and ready to drop. And Annabeth…

Even dead tired, worn to the bone, and mentally exhausted, Percy still thought she looked amazing. She'd been through hell with him, seen the same things he'd seen, and yet her grey eyes still shone with a fierce determination that, to this day, rocked him to his core. Those eyes had startled him when they'd first met, but he'd grown to love how unwavering she was in her resolve. _But she'd been afraid… of…_

As he made his way toward the other end of the deck, Annabeth caught his eye and walked over to him. "Hey, Percy." She searched his face, analyzing and calculating in that way of hers, and Percy turned away, trying to keep the results of his nightmares off his face.

"So what's all of this about, anyway?" Percy asked as the other five noticed him. "I'm guessing whatever's going on, it's a problem, right?"

Leo grimaced, fidgeting with a lug nut and pressing buttons on the Wii remote. "Well, the problem is that we've got no idea what to do next, and every monster in Tartarus is after our hides."

Annabeth made a face, but said, "Yeah. We need a game plan. We can't just march up to Gaea and wing it or we're all monster chow."

Percy nodded, but had no idea what kind of plan could succeed against the Mother of Earth. Then again, he had to give his girlfriend credit—she _was_ great at plans with long odds. In fact, he couldn't think of a single one that hadn't sounded insane and suicidal at the time. _I mean, for Pete's sake,_ he thought. _The only reason we didn't die in Tartarus was because Annabeth knew how to get herself out of horrible situations._

"We've got, what, two weeks?" Hazel said. "Theoretically that's enough time to get to the Acropolis, but everyone knows how that could turn out. We'll probably barely get there in time."

Annabeth sighed, and Percy again watched as she got that _I'm planning something_ look on her face. Her nose scrunched up, her eyes narrowed a little, and she ever so slightly sucked in her bottom lip. He could imagine the gears turning in her head, formulating one of her Athena-worthy plans and calculating every step for the best outcome. Finally, she glanced at Leo. "What's the fastest way to the Acropolis?"

"Through the Strait of Corinth," Leo replied. "Why?"

Percy studied the map Leo had brought up and pointed at the strait. To him, it seemed alarmingly narrow and too much like the tightening of a noose. If they sailed through there, the _Argo II_ could easily be overwhelmed if it were attacked from all directions. There'd be no turning back and no way to plow forward. "It seems a little narrow. Are we sure that's the best way?"

No one could answer him, but Frank stepped forward and pointed at the land mass beneath the strait. "If we don't go through the strait, we'll be forced to go all the way around the Peloponnese. Who knows how much longer that could take?"

"Yeah," Percy countered, "but, correct me if I'm wrong, isn't that a tactical nightmare? I'm no expert like you, but wouldn't we be easily trapped?" He could see the ship in his mind, being attacked from every side, the cannons and defenses unable to keep up until eventually everyone tired and then they were overwhelmed. He wasn't a genius like Annabeth, or a tactics guy like Frank, but he'd been in enough battles to know being surrounded by an enemy, especially one with almost inexhaustible resources, was not a good thing.

Jason scratched his head and scanned the map himself. "Nothing can be easy, can it?" he muttered, picking at his singed T-shirt and shooting the sky a look.

At Percy's side, Annabeth straightened and snapped her fingers. A look of realization lit up her face as a lightbulb went off. "Hazel, could you control the Mist and hide us as we crossed the strait? Then we could—"

"I wish," Hazel interrupted, "but there's no way I could keep the Mist bent that long. Besides, Hecate already told me some of her followers defected to Gaea and we don't know if they'd be along the strait or not. As far as we know, Gaea completely expects us to take the shortest route to Athens and had planned accordingly."

Percy stood there listening to everyone throw in their two cents when a scrap of his nightmare came rushing back to him.

He was standing at the bow of the _Argo II_ and keeping watch for any monsters like he did almost every night when Leo set the boat down into the sea. He could feel the pulse of the water as if it were a living thing, and it calmed his nerves like it always did, like he was home. Air travel with Jason was safe enough, but the sea was _his_ home turf, and whenever they sailed anywhere he felt more at ease.

The night was balmy with a slight breeze, and Percy found himself enjoying his lazy surroundings. Above him stars shone brightly, their white light in stark contrast with the dark night sky. His spirits darkened thinking about Bob, though, who he left in Tartarus so he and Annabeth could close the Doors of Death. Bob had wanted to see these stars again, feel the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze of spring. Now Bob was… well Percy didn't want to think of what happened to him.

Suddenly, the sky turned blood red and the _Argo II_ lurched violently to the left, sending Percy sliding down the deck, knocking him against ropes and crates. He tried in vain to catch hold of something anchored to the floor, but instead slid into the mast. He clung to it, trying to figure out what caused the ship to dip like that, but came up empty. If it had been something from under the water he already would've sensed it, and, as far as he could see, nothing was flying above him. Of course, it was hard to see through the blood red sky.

As he pulled himself to a stand he heard someone cry out from the ocean, "Help!" His heart caught in his throat when he recognized the voice to be Annabeth's, screeching for someone, anyone, to save her.

Without a second thought, Percy dove overboard to retrieve Annabeth. But as he hit the water a burning pain spread throughout his body, stealing the breath from his lungs and causing a wave of agony to wash over him. He was struggling to see, still trying to find Annabeth. That was all that mattered, all that he cared about. After everything they'd gone through, he _would not_ lose her. He'd promised.

 _You're so naïve little hero,_ a deep voice boomed from all around him. _Before any of this started you chose your path, and now you get to see how that will affect the one you love._ _Any path you take now will play into my hands._

It was Gaea, and that horrible, filthy voice sparked something in Percy. Something that he hadn't felt since he controlled Akhlys' poison back in Tartarus. It was blinding anger. He was angry at Gaea for trying to destroy the world, angry at Arachne for dragging him and Annabeth into Tartarus, angry at the gods for using him as a pawn, angry at the Romans for marching on Camp Half-Blood, angry at Leo for firing on them, but most of all…

He was angry at himself. It was his fault that Bob and Damasen were killed in Tartarus. It was his fault that he couldn't stop Annabeth from falling into Tartarus in the first place. It was his fault that he hadn't ever helped Bob after he'd wiped the guy's memory. And it was _his fault_ that the gods had closed Olympus in the first place. Yeah, the gods could be petty and ridiculous, he knew that, but if he hadn't been the upstart, the showoff, the hero, this issue with Gaea might've been resolved so much sooner. Lives could've been saved.

 _Yes,_ Gaea goaded. _That anger, that hate. You have finally realized why heroes are doomed, haven't you? Heroes may be noble and brave, but you still serve a lot of selfish weasels. The gods use you all as pawns in a never ending game that only begun because some immortals cannot face the facts: they will fall someday, just as Rome fell._

 _I pity you, Percy Jackson, I do. You understand something the others don't. Something your friend Luke Castellan did understand, but didn't accept. You're doomed serving the gods and doomed if you try anything else. You half-bloods can never come out_ truly _victorious._

"Percy!"

Annabeth was snapping her fingers in front of Percy's face, calling his name and trying to get his attention. Her face was a wall of worry, fear, and flashback, but as soon as Percy heard her calling his name he came out of whatever weird nightmare/flashback thing he was in and looked around. He was standing exactly where he had been when the others were arguing about the Strait of Corinth, except now everyone was staring at him oddly, like they were worried… but a little scared, too.

"Uh… you okay, dude?" Leo laughed nervously. "You kind of zoned out there."

Gaea's disturbing words pounded in Percy's head, making him groan, and a wave of nausea swept over him. He wanted to deny it, to push Gaea from his mind, but he knew that no matter how bad it sounded and no matter how much every demigod wished it weren't true, they were all doomed to a fate they hadn't chosen. Every great hero has a tragic ending, and demigods are considered the original heroes, the mighty heroes of Greek mythology. It was fitting they always had a crappy life and, usually, a horrible death.

Percy turned away and started walking toward the edge of the ship. He needed to get away and go where no one else could follow. Annabeth was always a comfort, but after Tartarus Percy couldn't help but notice the slight fear on her face, and it ate at his insides.

"I don't care which way you go," Percy shouted as he neared the edge. "But I'll be back at the end of my watch." He gave Annabeth a final look that, hopefully, conveyed, _Just wait, I'll tell you later._

As he plummeted toward the ocean, he half expected to choke with poison again, but there wasn't any resistance as he slid into the water.

 _You half-bloods can never come out_ truly _victorious._


	2. II

II

Percy

As soon as Percy hit the water he calmed down. Up there with the others he wasn't really needed to make decisions like that. They could sail through the strait or not and Percy would still do the same thing he always did—fight to protect everyone he loved.

The water around the _Argo II_ was murky like it was filled with silt and Percy struggled to see, though his underwater radar-sense was a fine replacement. He could pinpoint everything around him and it was much more reliable than sight.

Usually when Percy was in water he didn't get wet, but now he just wanted to get soaked, wash away Gaea's words, so he willed the water to soak him. It felt good to float around in the sea, to let the current bob him all over. He kept the _Argo II_ within half a mile so he could warn his friends if he sensed any monsters, but otherwise he wasn't paying attention to where he was going or how long he was under.

As much as Gaea was eating at him, he couldn't help but remember how angry he'd been, even in a dream. This wasn't even Ares-type anger, it was blinding hatred. It was primal and instinctive, and he had no idea where it had come from. Percy was a pretty easy going guy and never got angry unless his friends and family were threatened, but even then he wasn't the type to fall off his rocker. After he'd come back from Tartarus, though, he was getting angry more and more often. That run-in with Akhlys broke something inside of him, and he could feel it.

By the time Percy started to head toward the _Argo II_ , he wondered what Annabeth would say. She'd seen him flip and choke the goddess of misery, and he was sure some of his emotions were showing during that dream spectacle. Would she even want to talk about it?

 _I have to tell her. She deserves to know. After all, I told her we wouldn't be separated again,_ he thought.

As he neared the ship, Percy noticed the silt getting thicker and thicker to the point of utter blindness underwater. Using a wave of water to lift him up, he hopped onto the main deck and scanned for Annabeth.

Only Leo and Hazel were up there, both of them pressing buttons on the controls and swearing in other languages. Leo's elfish features were scrunched up in confusion and frustration, making him look like one of Santa's really ticked off elves. Hazel, on the other hand, was a lot more vocal about her building impatience and decided to kick the control panel a couple of times before sitting down and giving up.

Hazel saw him first, but Leo spoke once he realized Percy was back aboard. For some reason, Leo's grin was so big it almost split his face. "Hey, man! Were you pouting or something? You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

Leo's mood was contagious and Percy felt a little better, especially over earlier. "What in the world are you doing? Your face looks like you've discovered a way to read people's minds or make Buford the Wonder Table do the _Macarena_."

Leo somehow grinned even bigger before he tossed Archimedes' sphere up in the air and caught it. He wiggled his eyebrows mischievously like he was either going to explain the old Greek sphere or maybe you'll find explosives in your mattress, and he would be happy with either.

"We're going to get around the Peloponnese faster than Frank got out of that Chinese finger trap with my ingenious inventions," Leo declared triumphantly. "We'll feel like we're shadow-traveling we'll be flying so fast." He made ridiculous sound effects with his mouth including a racecar, a jet, and, for some reason, an airplane crashing into a mountain. "It'll be epic!"

Percy had to laugh. _Leave it to Leo to cheer everyone up._ That's definitely what he needed right now.

Hazel spoke up then. "Uh, are you okay with us going around the Peloponnese? You weren't exactly here when we decided," she said, ever so slightly avoiding eye contact. She wouldn't look at him or even hardly speak to him, and Percy bit back a comment.

"Why would I care?" he asked genuinely. "That's not exactly my thing, you know? I'm more of a _chop-the-heads-off-monsters_ kind of guy. Besides, we've only ever had one goal, and that's defeating Gaea, which means we all have to be alive to do it. I trust Annabeth and the others' judgement with my life."

Hazel's shoulders relaxed a little and she smiled, but Percy could tell something was bothering her, something she didn't want to admit. Her bright golden eyes seemed a little dull and preoccupied with something, almost like she'd seen a ghost. She tried to hide it, but he knew that look anywhere—she'd had a really bad nightmare.

"Hazel—"

Before he could get another word out, Percy sensed something move underneath the ship, slightly rocking it and stirring up the water. He couldn't sense the source of the disturbance, but he assumed it was trying to kill them just like the rest. The ship lurched to one side, but he steadied it almost immediately, calming the waters around the _Argo II_ and allowing Hazel and Leo to get their footing.

Percy uncapped Riptide, but stayed focused on keeping the water calm. For some reason he was getting resistance, almost like two equally powerful forces were warring over shared turf. It was causing a weird feeling all over his body, like the energy was draining out of him. He tried to think of why that could be, but had absolutely no idea and couldn't afford to be distracted or his hold over the water would release. As he fought against the weird force, Leo and Hazel burst into action, Leo scrambling with his magic tool belt and Wii remote. Hazel drew her _spatha_ and stood on alert, but there was nothing to kill.

Until an explosion of monsters came shooting up out of the water straight for Percy. Wicked sharp claws and sizzling poison came hurtling toward him faster than a train, but he couldn't dodge or slash them without letting the ship go, which he speculated would snap it forward like a rubber band at this point. Just as he was about to be ripped to shreds and vaporized at the same time, Hazel jumped in, stabbing monster after monster, her face beaded with sweat.

"Percy! What's wrong?" she shouted over the noise.

But Percy was in no condition to answer. His entire body was soaked in sweat and his muscles felt like he'd run a hundred miles uphill. Just standing was almost too much for him at this point as he struggled to grip Riptide, and yet the ocean around the _Argo II_ was still starting to churn and rock the ship, despite his efforts. He needed the others awake and out here, now. There was no way Leo, Hazel, and him could keep all of these monsters away _and_ figure out what was causing the problem. Truth be told, he needed Jason to help corral this storm, maybe subdue some of the gale-force winds so that he could dive into the water and figure out what was going on.

Hazel continued to kill any monster in her vicinity until finally Percy had to let go of shreds of hold over the water. The ship pitched forward and he and Hazel were thrown forward a few feet, but nothing too bad. Percy landed hard on his left shoulder, but ignored the dull ache and stumbled over to Hazel.

"We need the others!" he shouted. "This is too much for us!"

Hazel looked a little dazed, but nodded and yelled back, "Where's Leo?"

Percy was about to say he didn't know when a loud, high pitched whine came from the bow of the ship and a spray of fire enveloped the nearest monsters, frying them to a crisp and sending them back to the death pit they came from. The rest of the surrounding forces scurried away, trying to avoid the bronze dragon head that was whirring and spinning, spewing fire as it went.

And then came Leo with the cavalry in tow. Maybe wearing holey T-shirts and boxers, but hey, reinforcements were reinforcements.

Jason, ever the serious one, came right out and demanded to know what was going on, his muscles tensed as he drew his Imperial Gold _gladius_ and scanned for any incoming monsters. As Percy explained the exhaustion that came with controlling the water, Jason narrowed his eyes and gave a quick nod. "Let me try something," he said and lifted himself into the air.

Frank, Piper, Hazel, and Leo began attacking the monsters toward the stern of the ship, Piper using charmspeak to make some of the monsters jump into the sea or fight with their allies, and Frank changing into a dozen different animals as the need arose.

Annabeth was the only one who didn't take off to engage the monsters. Instead, she paced, and Percy watched as she muttered something about gods and goddesses before turning to him, fixing him with her grey-eyed gaze.

"You need to find out what's going on," Annabeth said. "And fast, or we'll be walking to Athens." Then she pointed above them where Jason was stuttering in the air, losing a lot of altitude but catching himself at the last second. "Jason seems to be having the same issue as you, and we have to figure this out, now."

Percy ran a hand through his hair and raised Riptide. "Okay, let's—"

Just as he was about to take off, a _venti_ swooped down and plucked him from the deck, hovering at least thirty feet in the air so he was out of reach from any of his friends on the ground. Annabeth shouted something, but he couldn't hear it over the wind-tunnel sound from the _venti_. Percy tried to use Riptide, but it passed right through the wind spirit, and he recalled how hard they were to kill, even with Celestial Bronze. He cursed in Ancient Greek.

The _venti_ hurtled toward the sea, which made no sense to Percy since that was where he had the advantage, but at the last second dropped him over the open water and disappeared. As soon as he was under he felt his strength returning and his mind clearing. He noticed the silt had cleared a little, but it was still somewhat hard to see, so he focused on his underwater radar.

He sensed the giant coming before he saw it. As soon as he realized it, he cursed in English and raised Riptide, hating himself for not assuming Polybotes would come after him once he found his way out of Tartarus.

"Arrrggh!" the giant roared as he approached Percy. His snake legs were as disgusting as ever and his hair was still teeming with basilisks, all of them hissing viciously, their forked tongues darting in and out of their mouths.

Polybotes swam within twenty feet of Percy before laughing and pointing his finger. "Ah, Percy Jackson, how wonderful to see you again! This time I'll finally capture you and torture you until your little mortal heart fails!" He cackled some more, to add effect.

Percy stomach turned at the thought of the giant's green poison, and he could've kicked himself for yet again being completely blind. The only reason the he'd be thrown into the sea would be to fight the _anti-sea_ giant. Now he was stuck, and had no idea how to fight Polybotes effectively. Deciding to draw him above water and by the ship, Percy tried to will himself upward. But just as soon as he moved an inch, he that same exhausted feeling settled over his body.

"Having trouble little demigod?" Polybotes sneered. "You'll find that your powers will only tire you and make you easier to kill. Gaea has enlisted the help of a most useful minor goddess—Kymopoleia, show yourself."

Next to Polybotes appeared a twenty foot tall goddess dressed in a flowing green dress and adorned in all manners of jewelry made from abalone shells.

"Are you ready to die, dear brother of mine?" the goddess shrieked gleefully.

 ***I apologize for the delay. I had major computer issues. In the future, chapter will come in a timelier manner.**


	3. III

**III**

 **Percy**

The first thing that went through Percy's head was, _Did Poseidon have other half-bloods?_ Then he realized that was stupid, and that this woman was obviously a goddess. Nothing else could possibly give off such an aura, so powerful. Sure, she was a minor goddess, but that meant absolutely nothing when compared to a demigod.

His second thought was: _Why is she helping Polybotes?_

He didn't have to wait long because Kymopoleia growled, "You do not even know who I am, do you, son of Poseidon?" She was scowling, deep hatred radiating in her eyes.

Percy decided he should at least try to act like he knew the goddess, though he really didn't have any idea. "Uh…yeah, of course. You're, uh, you were at Poseidon's last Christmas party, right?"

She chuckled, obviously amused with his pathetic attempt. Her eyes flashed and she waved her hands, causing the water around her to swirl in a ferocious whirlpool, stirring up more and more silt. "I do not need your excuses, demigod. I know that I am unknown to most. Unfortunately for you, that will be your final mistake."

Percy knew he couldn't fight Polybotes and Kymopoleia alone. It wasn't like he could kill either of them. Without the help of a god or goddess, he could only slow down the giant, and the only goddess on hand was one that hated his guts. That was just his luck.

He decided he'd need to get back to the ship and figure out a plan, something hopefully Annabeth could help him with. He guessed that something was going on he knew nothing about, which was no surprise, but staying down here, waiting to get killed, just wasn't an option. Willing the water around him to propel him upward, he suddenly gasped, feeling the energy drain out of him. Confused, he stopped trying, widening his eyes at Kymopoleia.

The goddess laughed at his shock, spinning the whirlpool above her faster. "Confused, demigod?"

Percy, breathing heavily, just stared at the goddess. _Yeah, just a bit._

Polybotes, who Percy had somehow almost forgotten about, shook his head, causing basilisks to fall from his head and lunge for Percy, who drew Riptide and slashed them to dust. "You should know, son of Poseidon, that, while you have control over water, others do as well. And you, stupid hero, are on Kymopoleia's turf."

Realizing that moving the water was like a turf war, Percy cursed himself. _That's_ why the _aurae_ dropped him into the sea. He was almost as helpless as a mortal, the exception of breathing underwater, and he couldn't go anywhere without absolutely exhausting himself. Unfortunately, that only left fighting to the death, which he was certain would end in _his_ death. He decided that his only tactic would be to pull an Annabeth and get the goddess talking. If he could persuade her to help him…

"Kymopoleia," Percy said. "Can I call you Kym? Look, what are you a goddess of?" He asked it genuinely; he was curious what kind of turf he was infringing on and how she could make such a powerful whirlpool with such ease.

Kym scoffed. "Why should I tell you now? Because you are about to die?"

Percy shrugged. "That's some of it. But how do make whirlpools like that? They're huge." He wasn't lying either; there was no way he could make anything like that, though he was half mortal.

"I am the goddess of violent storms," she announced, obviously proud of her status. "And I have been suppressed and ignored for centuries, waiting for the mortals and gods to acknowledge my power! You demigods are getting what you deserve."

Understanding what Kym meant by underestimation from the gods, he sympathized. The twelve Olympian gods were always using demigods and minor gods alike to their advantage, not caring what happened to them as long as they didn't betray the gods. The only reason that Kronos could rise the last time was because Luke felt abandoned by Hermes and decided to throw his lot in with the Titans. The only reason that he was in this situation was because Kym felt cast aside by the Olympian gods and, therefore, the demigods. So, he realized that maybe Kym wasn't too far gone.

"Kym," Percy said, capping Riptide and turning to face her completely. "I know what it's like to be used by the gods and ignored, and I understand why you're angry. You have every right to be." The goddess's eyes got wide at that, staring at him in shock. "Heck, I'm still pissed at Hera for taking my memory and sticking me at Camp Jupiter." He said that last part bitterly, realizing just how mad he was with the gods.

"Really? But—"

"ENOUGH!" Polybotes bellowed, pointing his trident at Percy. "It's time for you to die! I will torture you until your mortal heart gives out, or your mind scrambles, whatever comes first!" As soon as he was done, green poison began making its way toward Percy, surrounding him, cutting off any possible escape routes.

When the poison got to him, he hadn't expected it to boil his insides. He'd expected something like Akhlys's poison, making him choke and gag, robbing him of oxygen and making his sinuses burn. But when the green anti-Poseidon poison enveloped him, it felt as if his insides were set on fire, boiling him, melting him from the inside out. He screamed, the sound ripping from his throat, agony and torture all poured into the sound, making his throat raw, until he just lost his voice. He didn't know how long it'd been, or how long he'd been underwater, until it got to the point where he couldn't remember anything before this pain, and he couldn't imagine anything coming after. He wanted to die—he wanted to die to make this pain stop.

He was so disoriented that when the poison finally receded, it took him a good five minutes to regain his senses. He felt like he'd just taken another trip through Tartarus, drank some river Phlegethon. He started hacking, even as the water healed him.

A deep laugh made him whip around to face Polybotes, only to wince at the pain in his head, like a hammer pounding on his skull nonstop.

"You mortal mind is so weak," Polybotes chuckled. "It took only two minutes to make you lose all sense."

 _Only two minutes?_ Percy thought. _It felt like an eternity._

And, without warning, the poison came for him again, the tendrils wrapping around his legs, snaking up his body, burning his skin the whole way.

"Percy!" a voice shouted from behind him, drawing his attention. It was Jason, surrounded by _venti_ , which apparently allowed him to breathe underwater. "Percy, move!"

Using the last of his energy, Percy propelled himself closer to Jason, away from Polybotes' poison. As soon as he did, though, he could barely move. His energy had been drained from going against Kym. Glancing at Jason, he realized the sky god's son was doing no better. He was barely reigning in those _venti_.

"Percy, we have to go," Jason said, out of breath, eyes on Polybotes and Kym.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Polybotes lunged and grabbed Jason, yanking him through the _venti_ , cutting off his air supply. Polybotes had him by the neck, holding him almost like when Darth Vadar force choked people. He gagged and thrashed, trying to get himself free, but Percy could tell he didn't have the strength. Knowing Jason couldn't breathe underwater, Percy started to panic.

"Ah well," the giant said. "I'll settle for this little runt first. Too bad he can't even put up a fight." His hand tightened, slowly crushing Jason's windpipe, and Jason's eyes bulged, darting this way and that in fear.

As Percy saw that, he felt something break inside him, just like when he was standing at the edge of Tartarus. He didn't know what it was, except that it felt like broken glass grinding his insides, putting him on a razor's edge. Anger flooded him, filling him with renewed power, engulfing his veins with liquid rage. He was livid—he wanted blood. He was absolutely _done_ with this ridiculous giant, messing with him wherever he went, and causing him grief. But this time, he'd crossed the line. Jason was Percy's friend, a great one, and if Polybotes thought he could mess with _Percy's friends_ , he had another thing coming.

 _I will rip you apart if it's the last thing I do,_ Percy swore to himself, eyes flashing in anger and hate and bitterness. A million emotions swirled inside him, bumping against one another, threatening to boil over and consume him. Up until that point, he hadn't let them get that far, let them influence him so heavily, but now he just let go and let his anger rule.

Shooting forward with lightning speed, Percy drew Riptide and slashed down on Polybotes' arm that was holding Jason, slicing it clean through. The giant's eyes widened in shock, but Percy had no time to wonder at how he'd done it—Jason couldn't hold his breath much longer. He remembered back to how he'd controlled Akhlys' poison and instinctively knew, rather than thought, he could control water in anything, especially if he were surrounded by it. Raising his hand and pouring all his hate and anger and bitterness into his focus, he imagined Polybotes' blood, partly water, and imagined it flying apart, all of it separating into individual molecules. He let out a primal, animal scream, and curled his fingers into a fist.

Polybotes let out a scream, but it was cut short as his entire body flew apart, scattering into dust. It immediately began to reform, slowly, and Percy growled. He turned on Kym, who was staring, horrified, at Percy, her mouth in a perfect 'oh'.

"Kym!" Percy yelled, pointing at the solidifying giant. "I can give you the recognition you want, but you have to help. I know what it's like to be a pawn, forgotten, but you still can't be on the wrong side. I can only help you if you help me!"

Kymopoleia was stunned. She'd never witnessed anything like what Percy had done, not from a demigod, and it truly scared her. Percy saw she'd stopped her storm, and was just openly gaping at him. But he didn't have time for that.

"You have to decide now!" he demanded, swimming over to Jason, grabbing his friend under the arms.

The goddess shook her head as if to clear it, still staring. She broke her stare, though, to glance at Polybotes, who'd reformed halfway and was already spitting mad. She'd hated the gods and their half-bloods, but this one seemed different somehow. More violent. And she liked it.

"I will help you, Percy Jackson. I don't know why, but you are different. You are not like your Olympian family, and I find that intriguing. Let us kill this giant," she said, pulling her golden discus back as Percy hoisted Riptide by the hilt like a spear, and they threw at the same moment, weapons hitting home, turning Polybotes to dust.

"I hope I see you again, Percy Jackson. I look forward to the day. A warning, though. Your fatal flaw is dangerous, son of Poseidon, especially now. I have seen what you can do when you are protecting those you love, and it is truly frightening. But you are loyal to a fault. Gaea knows you would give up anything to save your friends, and I've witnessed it here.

"Your humanity is your own to lose, Percy Jackson, but the world is not." With that, Kymopoleia disappeared in a bright flash of light. Meanwhile, Percy shot upward, hauling Jason's limp body with him, trying not to think about what the goddess said.

When they landed on the deck of the _Argo II_ , there wasn't a monster to be found. His friends had killed all of them, and only scattered piles of dust signified they had even been there at all. Annabeth and Piper rushed forward, running at full speed, shouting their names, but Percy was only focused on Jason.

Using the last of the strength he'd had underwater, Percy extracted the water from Jason's lungs, and he presently started hacking, gasping for air. Percy smiled and was about to say something, when his surroundings blurred, turning fuzzy and inconsistent. He blinked, trying to clear his vision, when a wave of dizziness swept over him, causing him to fall to stumble.

The last thing he heard was Annabeth shouting his name before he collapsed, hitting the wooden deck with a _thunk_ , and everything went black.


	4. IV

***Thank you Nerdbirder for the review. I appreciate the enthusiasm. By the way, I found a petition online to turn PJO and HoO into an animated TV show (Disney) based on Viria's fanart. I think Disney would finally do PJO justice. Link: p/dreamworks-disney-to-make-a-percy-jackson-and-the-olympians-heroes-of-olympus-cartoon-tv-series-tvpercy?recruiter=496193423 &utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink** **The link might have to be copied into your browser's search bar.**

 **IV**

 **Jason**

 _Why does the Ionian taste like sweaty gym socks?_ Jason wondered as soon as he regained consciousness, coughing and hacking. His chest felt like Hannibal the elephant was sitting on it, compressing his sternum to the point that if he breathed in too deeply, it would send him into another fit of coughing. He struggled to a sitting position with a groan, his neck flaring in pain. He started remembering the hands at his throat…

"Jason!" And Piper's arms were around him and pulling him into a tight, desperate hug where he could smell her perfume, a sweet and spicy smell that he inhaled in an attempt to just lose himself in her arms. She pulled back to examine every inch of him and sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the bruises on his neck.

He imagined they were already purpling and just stared at Piper. Her face was as beautiful as ever, like she was Aphrodite herself, but in a rougher, more natural way that told you she wasn't trying to show herself off. The look in her kaleidoscope eyes was different than the one he remembered from the few hours at Wilderness School they'd had together; now she was more mature and… wary. She was usually a little guarded, like she expected to be attacked at any moment, which made sense.

Now her eyes were just flitting over his face, trying to figure out what else was wrong. She wasn't stupid, and she could always tell when something was wrong.

"Jason, what happened? What happened to Percy?"

Annabeth was next to him, kneeling down with a worried expression written across her features. Her gray eyes were stormy, like the sky before an onslaught of rain, and then Jason recalled what had gone down underneath the _Argo II_.

Jason had been stuttering in the air, trying desperately to fight off a group of _venti_ and stay aloft at the same time, but for some reason, it was draining him. It made his limbs heavy, like wet sandbags, and he was struggling enough that if it weren't for his demigod battle-ready ADHD, he never would've been able to stay alive. When he'd finally made contact with another _ventus_ and sent it back to where it'd come from, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Percy, being dropped into the ocean by a group of _venti_.

Confused but not concerned, Jason had turned back to the matter at hand. He had at least another dozen wind spirits to deal with, and he needed to get back to the ship so he could help his friends deal with a particularly nasty-looking group of _empousai_ that were rearing their ugly heads. Annabeth was holding them off pretty effectively, slashing and stabbing like a demon, severing them or sending them straight back to Tartarus in one fell swoop, seeming with an extra grudge against them, but she could only do so much before she'd run out of steam or one would get lucky.

Hazel had been fending off a swarm of gryphons and screaming, "I _hate_ these stupid things!" She'd willed gold to shoot up around her, some extra they'd gotten from the Amazons so long ago, when she, Percy, and Frank had come back from their Alaska quest. The gryphons had gone nuts, squawking and flying in circles, some running into each other, some just seizing in midair, trying to get all the gold around them. Hazel's unruly dark hair was plastered to her face in sweat as she stabbed monster after monster, a true warrior.

Frank had been something else entirely. He'd impale a monster with an Imperial gold spear before morphing into a bear, a snake, or, oddly, a weasel, to try and effectively take out as many monsters as he could. If he needed better leverage, he'd fly up as a hawk and then drop onto a monster as Frank, killing it before it knew what'd happened.

At first glance, Jason hadn't seen Leo, only Festus spitting fire near the bow, but within a couple seconds he'd noticed Leo's curly brown hair and pointy ears sandwiched between Buford the Wonder Table and a group of telekhines that were trying to rip him to shreds. Leo had wielded his flaming hammer like a deranged psychopath, and Buford the Wonder Table did something along the lines of… _Is Buford the Wonder Table doing the_ Macarena _?_ Jason had pushed the sight from his mind, not even bothering with trying to understand.

"JASON!" someone had screamed from behind him. He stabbed a wind spirit and wheeled around to see Annabeth waving her arms frantically, all the _empousai_ around her turned to nothing more than gold dust. She had obviously been trying to get his attention, so he'd flown toward her, his entourage following at his tails.

"What's wrong?" he'd asked, tumbling to the deck and bouncing back to his feet out of a roll. "What happened to all the _empousai_ you were just fighting?" He'd glanced around, a little shocked, to see none left. She'd killed at least a dozen of them, somehow dodging all of their attacks despite their superfast reflexes.

Annabeth had lunged forward to run a stray gryphon through. "It's Percy. He's been down there awhile. What should we do?" She'd tried to hide it, but Jason could hear the tremor in her voice. Not that he blamed her.

"Percy—" Jason had been cut off as he stabbed a telekhine, "—can handle himself. Besides, what could any of us do while he's underwater?"

As they'd battled their way over to Leo, who was cursing a lot in Spanish and firing balls of fire to avoid being mincemeat, Annabeth bit her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowing. Jason hadn't been sure, but he was pretty certain that at that point she'd been thinking up ways to breathe underwater.

That's when it'd hit him—the boat had stopped rocking. The supplies weren't being tossed around, the demigods had found steady footing, and all around the _Argo II_ the waters were still, almost eerily so. Midday sun reflected off the water that had become clearer, with less silt swirling around to cloud it up, and the sky was no longer a blustery slate gray, ominous and threatening. Instead, it almost felt like a nice late summer afternoon—the sun at his back, the horizon beautiful—if monsters weren't trying to rip him apart limb from limb. That usually put a damper on things, in Jason's experience.

Annabeth had obviously noticed the difference, too. "That's weird. Now I'm even more worried. Did Percy do something?"

Jason had shaken his head—he didn't think so. "How could he? It's not like Poseidon's the god of weather."

Then Annabeth's face lit up. "I've got it," she said, pointing to a cluster of stray _venti_ the demigods hadn't yet killed. "Could you control them and use them as your air supply?" She'd mumbled to herself a little bit more, probably pondering how safe that was.

"Like my own personal air bubble?" Jason had asked, warming to the idea. If it meant he could figure out what Percy was doing, and help if the need arose, then he'd be willing.

"Yeah," Annabeth replied. "Do you think you can do it?"

"I think so."

It was a pain in his _podex_ , but Jason had managed to get the wind spirits under control enough to form a coherent bubble-ish shape that he hoped would withstand the pressure as he got farther and farther away from the surface. Nothing left for him to do but dive right in, he'd directed his _venti_ taxi underwater, holding his breath in case of the worst case scenario and he got soaked. To his surprise, his wind spirit shield held and he dove deeper and deeper, the light filtering in from above growing dimmer and dimmer as he went farther and farther.

That's when he'd caught sight of Percy.

The son of Poseidon had been writhing in pain, his muscles spasming and screams tearing from his throat, the cries of agony radiating even through Jason's wind bubble. He'd clawed at his throat, trying anything to stop the poison surrounding him, but it didn't matter—anything he did just seemed to add to the torture. The giant Polybotes had stood but fifty feet from him, cackling at the sight of his torment. Jason had urged his _venti_ to go down a little farther so that he could grab Percy as soon as he was clear of poison.

After a surprisingly short couple minutes, the fog of green poison receded, and Percy had begun healing himself, his bleary eyes darting between Polybotes and… a goddess. A goddess Jason had never seen before.

The woman was obviously a goddess because of the powerful aura she'd emitted, almost like she were a flashlight. She was dressed in a flowy green gown adorned with abalone shells that clanked as the current knocked them against each other. Every aspect of her had been beautiful, from her delicate face to her flowing platinum hair, and when she laughed at Percy it sounded like a dolphin whistling. Her skin had been a shimmery white, like someone had taken glitter to it, making her seem semi-corporeal and temporary as if she would disappear with a whip of the current even though a whirlpool was raging around her.

"You mortal mind is so weak," Polybotes had said, laughing. "It only two minutes to make you lose all sense."

Jason had watched in horror as the green poison came for Percy again, wrapping like tendrils around his legs, snaking its way closer and closer to his face, about to make him immobile again, torture him again with burning agony. Underneath Jason, the _venti_ had become restless, and he was struggling with keeping them reigned in, not wanting to take a dip in the Ionian sea anytime soon, especially since it was his uncle's domain. He'd been out of breath and desperate, and so he just did the first thing that came to his mind.

"Percy!" Jason had shouted as loud as he could, directing the wind spirits to where Percy was. Percy had glanced up, taking in Jason and the _venti_ before shooting forward with what seemed like the last of his strength and floating beside Jason.

"Percy, we have to go—" Jason had tried to tell his friend, before he was grabbed suddenly by none other than Polybotes, the giant's big hand wrapping around his throat.

When Percy had told him about the giant and their previous encounters, Jason hadn't expected him to be so brash and reckless, let alone pull him out of a group of _venti_ like he was plucking a weed out of a garden. He'd struggled and squirmed, but the giant was strong, and his air supply was completely cut off, not to mention he was completely soaked. He'd realized how hopeless the situation was unless Percy could somehow fight off the giant temporarily, which he highly doubted. The funny thing was, Jason could almost accept he would die, except that meant the line of the Great Prophecy, _to storm or fire the world must fall_ , would by default go to Leo, and he didn't want that for one of his best friends. He wanted to be the one to bear the prophecy, the one to taken the burden. Of course, none of that was going to happen if he were to die here, but he simply hadn't been strong enough to break free from Polybotes, and he couldn't summon lightning underwater.

"I'll settle for this little runt first. Too bad he can't even put up a fight," Polybotes had chuckled, squeezing Jason's neck tighter, slowly but surely crushing his windpipe. He'd gagged, his hands clawing desperately at the giant, but he hadn't even been able to scratch him.

 _This is the end. I'm sorry, Leo, I'm so sorry. I guess I'm not that good of a friend after all._

Jason's eyes had found Percy's, ready to accept his fate and signal Percy to leave, only to be shocked beyond belief. His friend's eyes had a look of utter _murder_ in them, like he was ready to rip someone apart limb by limb and laugh as he did it. It had been like the manifestation of rage and hate had turned Percy's usual demeanor—joking, easygoing, thick-headed—into something polar-opposite and frightening. Percy's face had contorted in anger, making him look almost evil.

To say Jason had been surprised to see Percy hack off Polybotes' arm like it was butter would be an understatement, and to say Jason hadn't been scared when Percy raised his hand like Darth Vader and vaporized the giant would be a lie.

At that point, Jason's consciousness had started to slip away, being robbed of oxygen for so long. His lungs burned and spasmed, begging for air that he couldn't give them. He'd seen Percy exchange heated words with the goddess who'd been next to Polybotes, but he hadn't been able to hear anything. Both of them threw something, but he couldn't comprehend exactly what'd happened, except that they'd killed Polybotes. Percy had his arms up under his, pulling him upward toward the surface, and Jason caught the goddess' last words:

"Your humanity is your own to lose, Percy Jackson, but the world is not." And then he'd passed out.

Now, with Annabeth staring daggers at him and Piper grimacing at him worriedly, he didn't think he could say anything—not yet. He had to talk to Percy as soon as he woke up, and before then he really didn't want to scare the rest of his friends with whatever power the son of Poseidon now had. He explained to Annabeth the basic run-down of what'd happened, leaving out the vaporization of Polybotes and her boyfriend's complete flip-out. He also didn't mention the goddess' last words to Percy, thinking Percy would rather keep those to himself.

Jason stood up (with help from Piper) and glanced at Annabeth, who looked beyond stressed about Percy. Her blonde hair was wildly coming out of her ponytail and her Camp Half-Blood T-shirt was ripped and holey, along with her ratty pajama pants. In her haste to get above deck, she didn't even put on proper shoes—just slippers that she must've had next to her bed.

"Percy should be find once we get him some ambrosia and nectar," Jason said, trying as hard as he could to keep the tremble out of his voice. He still couldn't look at Percy without shivering a little at the thought of what had just gone down, and, by Annabeth's face, she was picking up on it. Her gray, seemingly all-knowing eyes narrowed, but she just nodded, and asked Piper if she could get some. Piper nodded, leaving Jason with one last peck on the cheek.

As soon as Piper was out of ear-shot, Annabeth got closer to Jason and whispered, "Okay, what's _really_ going on? Because you seem completely freaked out."

He sighed—this was what he wanted to avoid, but there obviously was no fooling Annabeth. She'd figure it out anyway, if Percy didn't tell her as soon as he woke up. So he just nodded and tried to explain what Percy had done to Polybotes.

"When I was down there, Polybotes grabbed me around the throat and out of the air bubble of _venti_ , claiming he would deal with me first, and that it was a shame I couldn't put up a fight. I thought I was going to die. I mean, Percy had barely been able to escape Polybotes' poison, and I assumed he was completely exhausted like I was. So Polybotes is crushing my windpipe, and I truly do think I'm going to die, when Percy gets _angry_.

"I can't really describe it any other way. His eyes were practically _glowing_ with hatred for Polybotes, and it was as if it sent a shot of speed into his system. He shot forward and hacked off the Polybotes' arm, the one that was chocking me, and then stuck out his arm, an intense focus coming over him. The giant vaporized, leaving nothing but dust. He began to reform, and that's when I started losing consciousness. The goddess that was creating the storm eventually helped Percy kill Polybotes, I guess, but I couldn't really make out what they were doing. She said some stuff to him, but that's when I passed out."

Jason ended his spiel and took a breath, trying to regulate his breathing. He still wasn't feeling great after almost being choked to death only a few minutes before, but Annabeth was staring at him in shock and horror.

"He did it _again_?" she mumbled to herself, forgetting he was standing right next to her.

Jason blanched. " _Again?_ You mean this has happened before?" That seemed like it would've been useful information to share with everyone. Annabeth, however, just rapidly shook her head.

"No, it's not what you think," she said firmly. Then her eyes took on a faraway look. "Things happen in Tartarus you don't expect, and… well I'll explain, but I need to explain to everyone. I'm not reliving it more than I already have to." With that, she knelt next to Percy again and stared at him with a mixture of worry, anger, and fear in her eyes.

That, above everything else, was the proverbial straw that broke Jason's back. He sat back (practically fell, really) and closed his eyes, deciding to just lie down and stare at the blackness of his eyelids. For all the things he'd done in his life, watching a friend go insane hadn't been one of them. And yet here he was, stressing about the fate of the world, and now he had to deal with just another thing on a pile of already bad things. _I'm starting to think I'm cursed,_ he thought bitterly before shoving that thought away. As much as he hated the cards he was dealt, the mortals' lives were in danger, and they were innocent, so he would protect them with his life.

 _It's funny. Everyone fears death, even gods, and yet, at this point, I don't think it would be all that bad. Elysium is heaven and right now I'm living in hell. If I died, it'd honestly be a better deal than I have right now._

The ten minutes Piper was gone Jason just lied on the deck with his eyes closed, lost in his own thoughts. He never had been one to dwell on anything for any significant length of time, mostly due to his lack of it, but he didn't enjoy stewing over his problems. He found all it did was depress him, and this time was no different. By the time Piper finally made it back he was ready to rip his hair out he was so frustrated.

Of course, as soon as Annabeth gave Percy some nectar, Jason decided that he'd rather go back to mulling over his ever-growing list of problems. Because as soon as Annabeth had given Percy nectar, he'd woken up.

Percy jackknifed, hitting Annabeth in the head and sending her backward a good fifteen feet before looking around wildly, obviously scanning his surroundings for any threats. He, even in his exhausted state, did a kip-up and drew Riptide. That's when Jason noticed it.

The air around him was becoming heavy and humid, pressing down on him and making him sweat. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but there was no way it could be natural. The air was definitely too saturated with moisture to be natural, and it came on so suddenly. Fortunately, before anything else could happen, Annabeth ran and tackled Percy in a hug, settling her head into Percy's shoulder.

It had its affect—Percy's frame instantly sagged with relief. He hugged Annabeth back, whispering something in her ear and smoothing her hair. Jason turned his head. It wasn't his business.

"Hey," Piper said, startling Jason.

"Hey."

"I know something happened down there, Jason, but I won't press you about it. Just tell me: are you okay?" Piper whispered, resting her hand on his shoulder. And for all she wasn't—a mechanical genius, a military strategist, a child of the Big Three—she made up for it in the fact that she could make anyone feel like they mattered. She was fierce, persuasive, and comforting, and Jason, in response, just pulled her into a tight hug, once again breathing in her scent.

"I am now," Jason whispered into her ear.


End file.
